to encounter Him
When God Himself is our Portion, it means we are seeking to know Him, not just know more about Him. We are seeking an encounter and many encounters with God that will transform our perspectives and change our lives. We are God’s portion, and he is longing to encounter us as well. Through revealing himself through Jesus Christ, by becoming a man, he came to earth to encounter humanity, not just know it from a far. He also knows us completely and fully without our revealing ourselves to him. It’s scary to know that there is a person who knows everything about us but knows us completely and fully, but there is – God.
We are asked to encounter God when he is our Portion. Knowing about God does have an important place however. Tommy Tenney, author of Extreme God Chasers makes a similar distinction between knowing about God (truth) and knowing him (revelation):
The difference between the truth of God and revelation is very simple. Truth is where God’s been. Revelation is where God is. Truth is God’s tracks. It’s His trail, His path, but it leads to what? It leads to Him. Perhaps the masses of people are happy to know where God’s been, but true God chasers are not content to just study God’s trail, His truths; they want to know Him. They want to know where He is and what He’s doing right now.
History is filled with records of people who have had encounters with God. From Biblical figures like Moses, David, Jesus’ disciples, and Paul to people of modern history like Martin Luther, and Mother Teresa, these are all men and women who had a relationship with God. What’s even more amazing is that God continues to reveal Himself to people everyday, and not just these great spiritual people, but regular people like you and me. And when God reveals Himself it can be in so many different ways. He could use big explosive signs like a burning bush, or even just a quiet whisper.
But do you know something? At times when I’ve heard other people’s testimonies growing up, I thought to myself that they had these cool stories, but it could never be my story. I mean how do you feel when you hear or read about other people’s stories about how they have a great experience with God? One stereotypical example is the changed life testimony: a Christian would talk about how messed up his life was and speak of all the crimes and immoral things he did, and then speak about how his new relationship with Jesus Christ changed all of that. During those times, I thought to myself, “well that’s good for that person, but I’m different.” What I’ve come to realize is that’s perfectly fine. In fact, it’s better than fine. It’s one of the most amazing things about the way God reveals Himself to people. When we look at the stories in the Bible, and hear people’s testimonies, we realize that each encounter with God was unique and special. Each time God met with anyone, it was a special time, because God made each person special. And God deals with us individually and personally. So it’s alright when we don’t have the same exact experiences as someone else. God is still dealing with us, and it’s unique to who we are.
Observation - Have you ever had a God encounter?
Understanding - Journal about your God encounter or your desire to have one.
Application - What is something you can do today to prepare yourself for a God encounter?
